


Up, Up and Away

by gettingaphdinlarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - America, First Meetings, Friendship, Hot Air Balloons, M/M, Meet-Cute, Strangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 15:35:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17665268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gettingaphdinlarry/pseuds/gettingaphdinlarry
Summary: Niall bit his thumb. “What if we fall out?”“We’re not going to fall out.” Louis bounced on his toes. “Aren’t you excited?”Niall shook his head and watched as the teenagers stretched the balloon out along the sun-warmed grass. The basket was on its side and it looked like an actual basket, the kind his grandma had in her living room. It didn’t look sturdy enough to carry anyone up into the air.“I said yes to make you feel better."::When Niall joins his heartbroken best friend Louis on a hot air balloon ride for two, the last thing he expects to find is a bit of romance with their young tattooed pilot.





	Up, Up and Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myownspark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myownspark/gifts).



> Thank you to [louandhazaf](http://louandhazaf.tumblr.com/) and [mcqdj](https://mcqdj.tumblr.com/) for betaing this. I appreciate you both so much!
> 
> Myownsparknow, enjoy!

Niall bit his thumb. “What if we fall out?”

“We’re not going to fall out.” Louis bounced on his toes. “Aren’t you excited?”

Niall shook his head and watched as the teenagers stretched the balloon out along the sun-warmed grass. The basket was on its side and it looked like an _actual_ basket, the kind his grandma had in her living room. It didn’t look sturdy enough to carry anyone up into the air; he half expected to see a pile of old _Family Circle_ magazines slide out of it.

“I said yes to make you feel better,” Niall said. Louis had broken up with his boyfriend several months earlier, and he’d been left with flight coupons for a Romantic Hot Air Balloon Ride for Two.

Flight coupons that had an expiration date.

When Louis had asked him, Niall had agreed to go because he figured the breakup would be temporary, like always.

But this time it had stuck. And after seven flights were canceled due to rain, wind, muddy conditions—and hell, probably solar flares and a swarm of locusts—they finally had a perfect day.

Niall hadn’t expected this day would ever come, and now Louis was bouncing up and down, thrilled.

“Well, I do feel better.” Louis pointed at the lawn and tugged on Niall’s wrist. “Look, they’re blowing them up! Let’s go watch!”

Niall and Louis circled one of the balloons. Two teenagers held it open while another adjusted an industrial fan. The light fabric started to puff up, and Niall could see a few places where they had patched it. The rainbow swirl of color reminded him of playing with parachutes in gym class. At the other end, the basket was on its side, and the flame was lit, the air wavy with heat.

A young girl approached Niall and Louis. “You’re the only two men signed up for a flight today, so you must be Tomlinson?” Louis nodded, and she said, “Just need you two to sign this liability release, and then you’ll go up with Zayn.”

“Great!” Louis barely glanced at the form before signing it, then handed the papers over to Niall. “Can’t wait!”

Niall started reading. Hot air ballooning was a safe sport—sport, really?—and there were very few accidents. However, the rider should: not lean over the side of the basket, not try to climb out of the basket, listen to any directions given by the pilot, inform the pilot of any heart problems… Niall quit reading and rushed to sign the form.

When he looked up, a man with a nose ring and several tattoos stood in front of them. “Louis? And Ni…”

“Niall,” Louis said, jutting his thumb toward Niall.

“Niall,” Zayn smiled at him, then looked at Louis again, “I’m Zayn—”

Zayn? Surely he was too young to be their pil—

“—and I’ll be your pilot. We’re ready when you are.” Louis nodded, and Zayn swept his hand toward the basket. “Let’s get in.”

Louis nearly ran to the basket, while Niall approached it with a more careful step. Four teenagers held onto the sides of the basket. It was higher than he had thought—the sides of the basket came to mid-chest on Zayn, who was standing next to it. Then Niall noticed the basket had square gaps in the sides of it: footholds.

The basket had _holes_ in it.

Louis was nuts.

Zayn hopped into the basket easily. Louis stepped into the footholds and swung his leg over the edge, then dropped inside. Niall shook out his knees and started climbing the footholds. He swung one leg over but couldn’t twist his body to use the holds from the other side.

“Just drop down,” Zayn said, adjusting the flame.

_Whoosh._

Niall flinched. The flame was louder than he had expected.

Louis stepped toward Niall and held his arms up. “I’ll help you in, grab me.”

Niall twisted his body and leaned toward Louis, reaching for his shoulders. Louis caught him and helped into the basket.

“Thanks,” Niall said, standing up and steadying himself. He caught Zayn smiling, but Zayn turned away quickly, and then _whooooosh._ Niall felt heat above his head. He looked up at the gas flame. The balloon was bigger than he thought—

“Whoa.” Louis crashed into Niall as the basket swayed.

Niall grabbed the brim of the basket and closed his eyes. _Whoosh_. The basket swayed again, like a carnival ride.

“Hold on,” Zayn said, “not yet.”

Niall opened his eyes just enough to see that the employees were struggling to keep the basket on the ground.

“Your fucking ex,” Niall muttered.

Louis turned, his eyes shining. “Isn’t this great?”

“Crouch down if you need to, so you can’t see. Lots of people do it,” Zayn called out. “You can stand up later.”

_Whooooooosh._

Niall appreciated the advice, but he would never hear the end of it from Louis if he didn’t stay standing. “Th-thanks, but. I’m OK.”

The basket rocked again, and the shortest kid let go of the basket. _Whoosh_ —a second kid dropped off from the other side and Zayn yelled, “Go, go!”

The last two boys had a playful disagreement over who would let go first, much to Niall’s amazement. Didn’t they realize they could die? Finally, one dropped off the basket, falling a few feet to the ground. The last boy grinned and said “have fun!” before jumping off.

The basket immediately stopped rocking, and they floated upward.

The flame sounded again, and Zayn said, “Let’s see if we clear the trees…” Moments later, the tree line gilded beneath them. “Ah… perfect.”

Louis flashed Niall a huge grin. “Can’t believe we’re doing this!”

*****

Louis wouldn’t shut up.

He had dozens of questions, a non-stop list, it seemed. And Zayn answered every one with details.

The balloon was falling several hundred feet per minute, the wind was about five miles per hour, Zayn had never had an accident or even a scare, he’d learned the sport of ballooning from his grandfather, the balloon could hold over a thousand pounds in passenger weight, it was a family business and almost all of the crew members were siblings or cousins, and Zayn had nearly three times the amount of fuel he needed, “Just in case.”

Niall looked over at the river, trying not to hear them.

Despite his efforts to ignore them, Niall learned that the material used for the balloon—the envelope, it was called—could survive tears and rips, whole panels could even come out and they’d still be safe.

Niall noticed a sign inside of the basket. It said that passengers should warn the pilot about any power lines since they were fire- and disaster-causing. Niall cleared his throat. “Are there any power lines nearby?”

Zayn pointed to the west. “They’re that way. None in our path today.”

“Oh.”

“We have to worry more when the wind is going westward, toward the Cities, but today we’re mostly going south, along the river.” Zayn’s voice had a soft confidence to it.

Niall had to admit, as much as he hated Louis’ questions, Zayn’s answers calmed Niall’s fears. Zayn came off as skilled and knowledgeable, but not cocky. Niall cleared his throat. “How far will we go today?”

Zayn looked at his instrument panel. “Wind is just under five miles per hour, and it’s an hour-long flight, so about four or five miles.”

“Can you steer it?”

“Yes and no,” Zayn said. “I can’t just turn left or right. Laterally, we move with the wind. But I know the wind speeds and directions at different altitudes,” Zayn pointed to a small digital panel filled with numbers, “so if we needed to make a turn, I would make adjustments in altitude. We don’t really want to do that very often.”

“I like this altitude,” Louis said. “I can see everything.”

“Yeah, we try to stay right above the treeline,” Zayn said.

The men grew silent and Niall looked at the land beneath him. It was sort of like being in a plane, except he could hear everything—cars, barking dogs, and laughing children. The only thing that blocked the noise was the loud sound of the flame, but even that was less frequent now that they were higher up in the air.

“I’m surprised I can hear so well,” Niall said.

“It’s because we’re traveling on the wind, so sound carries.”

“Can they hear us?”

“Yep.” Zayn pointed to a small cluster of restaurants and antique shops near the river. “The owners of that shop always call out to us if they see us, and you can call back.”

“How long will it take before we’re there?”

“About a minute.” _Whoosh._

Niall looked at his watch. Exactly fifty-one seconds later, two women waved at the balloon and yelled, “Hello!”

Niall cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hi!” He grinned at Louis. “This is cool.”

“Feeling better?” Zayn released more fuel. “Less nervous?”

“The taking off… Well, how’s the landing?”

Zayn pointed to a narrow strip of grass between a cornfield and a stand of trees. “I could land in that strip if I needed to. I’ve landed in backyards before. Landing can be a little rough, but usually it’s easy, very gentle.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I promise. Well…” Zayn smiled at Niall, “Maybe a few soft bounces, but generally, I’m great at sticking landings.”

“Do people care if you land in their backyards?” Louis asked.

Zayn shook his head. “Nah, they tend to be thrilled to see a balloon up close. The state park, I’ve had to land there before. I try not to, though. The park officials get a little twitchy.”

It was evening, and the shadows were long on the ground beneath them. The sun was setting over the city to the west, making the skyline look hazy. To their east, the river hugged the state line, glittering beneath them.

The men rode in silence for a while, before Zayn finally said, “So what made you decide to go up in a hot air balloon?” He glanced at Louis. “Anything special?”

“Yeah, I was going to propose.”

Zayn jumped, his eyes widened. “Well, we’ve got about twenty minut—”

Niall smacked Louis’ shoulder. “You were going to _what_?”

Louis shrugged. “It’d been three years—”

“You broke up at _least_ five times in those three years—”

“I know, but I loved him.”

“Oh!” Zayn said, “I thought you two…”

Niall wrinkled his nose. “Oh no, we’re friends—”

“Since fourth grade—”

“—and he’s not my type.”

“Hey!” Louis punched Niall on the shoulder. “What’s that mean?”

“You’re like my brother,” Niall said. “And I don’t wanna kiss my brother.”

“Obviously my plans didn’t work out,” Louis said. “How many proposals have you seen?” Louis tapped Niall’s shoulder and pointed to the cornfield beneath them. “Look, there’s some deer.”

Niall watched the deer chomp on fat ears of corn, and then turned around in the basket, so he could watch the land rolling out behind them. “Anyone ever say no?”

“My first proposal actually…” Zayn paused for a moment and shrugged, “Well, I guess I can tell you both. He was a straight guy I had a crush on in college, so that was a little weird.”

“Ahh…” Niall smiled and shook his head, looking over his shoulder at Zayn. “The straight guy.”

Zayn held Niall’s eye for a moment and chuckled. “There’s always one, right?” Zayn checked his instrument panel. “I’ve never told anyone that story. It was… I was over him by then, but it was a bit surreal.” Zayn released some more fuel. When the noise died down, he said, “Louis, if I had to guess, I’ve probably seen at least two dozen proposals. Niall, never had anyone say no, but I once I watched a woman who… She really hesitated. They fought the whole car ride back. I don’t know if they ever got married.”

“That would’ve been them,” Niall stage whispered, jutting a thumb toward Louis.

Louis’ mouth opened as if he were going to protest, but instead he sighed and said, “You’re probably right.”

Zayn laughed and said to Louis, “Well what’s _his_ partner like?” He gave an exaggerated wink in Niall’s direction.

Louis scoffed. “What boyfriend?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Niall looked over the edge of the basket. Their long shadow passed over a field of soybeans.

Niall knew he was picky, but he hated meeting people just to meet. He’d rather hang out with friends he already knew, ones who could handle the times he needed to just be alone. Sometimes he wanted to go to the driving range and hit a ball of buckets by himself. Just the simple _thwack_ of club against ball. Not everyone understood that.

Louis pulled Niall into a half a hug and planted a showy kiss on his cheek. “Love ya, Niall.”

“In a few seconds we’re going to pass over the marina, always makes for a great photo,” Zayn said. “You can get great pictures of the balloon reflecting in the water.”

Niall and Louis moved to opposite sides of the basket, holding their phones out over the edge, waiting.

*****

They landed in an open field at a ski resort.

On their descent, Zayn radioed back to his family members, and he pointed to the exact spot he was going to land. Just past it was a series of ski lifts, but he assured them—Niall, really—that they wouldn’t get caught up in the lifts.

Below the basket, crew members spilled forth from a truck, a minivan, and a small car. He couldn’t imagine why so many people had arrived.

“Get ready, look up… I’m venting the envelope,” Zayn said, pulling a rope. Niall looked up and watched as a piece of fabric was cinched into a tight circle. He realized the fabric had covered top of the balloon—the envelope—to trap the heated air and create loft. “There’s your photo op.” Ropes radiated from the circle and traveled down each gore of the balloon; a ring of perfectly blue sky was framed by colorful swirls.

“OK, for landing, see those rope handles in the basket? Grab them and bend your knees, crouch down a bit.”

Niall and Louis got into position and they floated toward the parking lot. Then—

“That’s it.”

“Huh?” Niall said.

“We’ve landed.” Zayn grinned at them both. “Told you, I’m good at landings.”

Four of the teenagers held the basket. “You can get out now,” one of them said. Louis whistled. “I didn’t even feel that.” He climbed out of the basket first, then helped Niall.

Niall stepped to the side and watched the neatly choreographed act in front of him. Zayn was checking something in the basket, and his siblings were stretching a tarp out on the ground. One grabbed the long cord that was attached to the top of the envelope. “I’ve got it!”

The show was interrupted by a girl holding out two champagne flutes. “Champagne?”

“Thanks,” Louis said, taking one.

“Ah, look.” Niall tilted his glass toward Louis. It was etched with a hot air balloon, and above it was the company’s name: Up, Up, and Away.

The girl scurried away, and Louis clinked his empty glass against Niall’s. “Think he likes you.”

“Shh!” Niall’s eyes darted around. “No, he doesn’t.” He rubbed his finger against the balloon. “He kept talking to you.”

“Bullshit. Plus, he kept _looking_ at you.” Louis raised an eyebrow at Niall. “He’s not bad looking.”

Niall looked for Zayn in the bustling activity. He was helping the crew—his family members—push the air out of the balloon. He was calling out directions, but also joking with the youngest kids. While they worked, a few other people dragged the basket to the trailer and set it into place, tying it down with long straps. Niall was struck by how much Zayn seemed to be enjoying himself.

“This was a lot of fun.” Niall looked at Louis sideways. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to propose?”

Louis spun his glass between his fingers. “I thought you’d tell me it was a mistake.”

“I would have been supportive.” Niall bit his lip. “You’re my best friend and I want you to be happy.”

“I know. That’s why you would have told me it was a mistake.” Louis shook his head and blinked hard. “Somehow, you would have. In your Niall way.”

Before Niall could respond, Zayn approached them with a bottle of champagne. “Nice ride, thanks for coming out. Louis,” he poured Louis some champagne, “I know this uh… didn’t go as planned for you. Hope it was still OK.”

“It was fantastic.” Louis draped his arm over Niall’s shoulder. “Bringing Niall was better, mm?”

Niall wanted to elbow Louis in the ribs, or maybe stomp of his foot.

Zayn grinned and filled Niall’s glass. “Niall… you survived.”

Niall erupted into laughter, with Louis and Zayn joining him.

*****

After they finished their toast, Zayn said he’d drive Louis and Niall back to the launch site. Niall had thought they’d ride in the van and pick everyone else up. That’s what all of the reviews said, after all. When he said as much, Zayn said, “I think there’s room for one more in the van, if you want—” 

Louis had leapt into the van, calling out “me!” Then he had yanked the door closed.

Niall could kill Louis.

“It’s weird,” Niall said, pointing to the marina through the passenger window. “Everything down here, we just flew over. I mean, I know we did, but… Seeing it from here is strange.”

“Kind of unreal, huh?”

“Do you get used to it?”

Zayn shook his head. “Nah, feels new every time.” There was a tenderness to his voice.

“Are you ever scared?”

“I went up the first time when I was eight? Nine? I was too young to be scared. I got used to it.”

“You’ve never ended up in bad weather?”

“We’re very cautious, have to be.”

“I can see…” Niall thought about what Louis had said, about Zayn liking him. “I can see why this was called a ‘romantic flight for two.’ You must always win at the first date game.”

Zayn wrinkled his brow. “How many times did you have to reschedule this?”

“Um, seven I think.”

Zayn looked at Niall and raised an eyebrow. “Would you let a first date reschedule seven times?”

Niall ignored the heat on his cheeks. “OK, a great eventual-date idea.”

“True,” Zayn said. “Actually, I’ve never brought any of the guys I’ve dated up.”

“What? Why not?”

Zayn shrugged. “Only had two guys I thought were… interesting enough to take up. One was terrified of heights, and the other, just never wanted to come.”

“They missed out. That was so cool!”

Zayn sighed. “I’m lying. One was terrified of heights, but the other…”

Niall waited for a few long seconds. “Sorry, we don’t have to talk about th—”

“No, it’s—I’m usually more… I’m not usually so chatty with passengers, that’s all.” Zayn tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “The other guy was actually really interested in coming up, and he was getting his private pilot’s license. I was afraid if I took him on a flight, he’d want to come all the time. I told him I didn’t want to work on a date.”

“I get that.”

Zayn nodded. “But that wasn’t really it. First, if we have a good day to fly, we usually have some passengers—unless it’s winter, people get nervous to go up in the winter. But second… Sometimes I’m able to go up alone, and I love flying solo.”

“Mm.”

“I just knew he wouldn’t get that I needed to be alone sometimes. So I thought… Yeah, I just never brought him up.” Zayn laughed softly. “Which is a long way of saying I don’t know how it’d go as a date.”

“I get that. I like going to the driving range alone,” Niall said, rubbing his chin.

“Golf?” Zayn sounded surprised.

“I know, I know,” Niall said with a chuckle. “Nobody expects it.”

“Try telling people your hobby is hot air ballooning,” Zayn said with a grin. He looked over at Niall. “But really, I’m glad you enjoyed the flight.”

“I really—I was scared too, you know—I mean, I know you know,” Niall stopped. He sounded stupid. “But it was incredible. I’m glad Louis talked me into it.”

“I am too,” Zayn said, looking at Niall. “Think you’d go up again?”

“Yeah, I would.” Niall could feel Zayn looking at him, and his skin prickled under Zayn’s gaze.

“I know someone who’s got an in.”

Niall tried to hide his grin. “Oh, you do, hmm?”

“Yeah, I do.” Zayn slowed his car down and started to turn into the parking lot at the launch site. “In fact, he could even call you, let you know when flights are happening…”

“I think I heard about this guy…” Niall’s grin spread across his face and he put on his most serious voice. “He’s a bit of a loner, I think.”

“He’s good at finding other loners,” Zayn said with a grin. “You wouldn’t have to call the flight line every day…” Zayn turned the engine off. “As long as you’re not playing a round of golf, you could do a morning flight next time—”

“Morning?” Niall smirked. “That’s a little presumptuous—”

“Oh shit!” Zayn held his hands up in the air in front of him, palms outward. “No, that’s not,” he groaned and rubbed his face, “I could call you…” He put his hands over his eyes and shook his head. “Ugh.”

Niall laughed.

Zayn rested his hands on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean that.”

“I know.”

“So…” Zayn looked nervous. “Does that mean I can get your number?”

“On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Promise me the first date won’t be weather dependent.”

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading; I hoped you enjoy this little slice of Ziall. Come say hi to me on Tumblr, where you can find a [fic post](http://gettingaphdinmomo.tumblr.com/post/182570268686/up-up-and-away-3659-words-by-gettingaphdinlarry).


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